antique prints, maps and watercolors

Sem (Colonel Schlettigen) Paris 1903. $295.00

click for detailed image semcolonelschlettigenvlg.jpg

“Colonel Schlettigen”

Georges Goursat (born Perigueux 1863 – died Paris 1934) was a French caricaturist who signed his work “Sem.” A charming and talented man, Goursat was working in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century finding inspiration in his observations of French high society at Maxim’s, at the Opera, and at the races. Goursat supported himself selling illustrations both humorous and serious to the French major periodicals of the day. He put together albums of caricatures depicting high society in Monte Carlo, Deauville, the Cote d’Azur, and Paris. He wrote articles and created posters illustrating the tourist towns of Deauville, Cannes and Monte Carlo. His art is particularly associated with the Belle Epoque and his unique style of drawing brought him great success and fame. The printing method Goursat utilized is called pochoir. It was a technique of creating prints by applying color and line with cutout stencils. Some pochoir prints utilized thirty stencils for a single image.

Pochoir print.
20 x 13 1/2 inches sheet.
Two small tears along paper edges, far outside of image and easily matted out, image crisp and sharp.